Page 32 of Rescuing Macie

She wished she was as confident as Colt, but she gave him a small nod anyway. He leaned forward and kissed her again. “You ready to go home?”

Home. Yeah, she could totally get used to that. “Yes,” she said simply.

Even though it had been a weird day, and Macie should be stuck in her head and dealing with her insecurities, she wasn’t. She smiled all the way back to Killeen.

* * * *

Colt sat in his office with his hands steepled under his chin as he looked across the desk at the seven men on the second Delta Force team he commanded. He’d asked to speak to Trigger, and told him why, and the next thing he knew, the entire team was there.

“All due respect,” Grover had told him, “but if someone is threatening our commander’s woman, it’s all of our concern, not just Trigger’s.”

Colt couldn’t get upset with the men for that. Besides, the more people he had looking out for Macie, the better, in his opinion. So he’d outlined what had happened at her apartment complex and who Teddy was. He explained that Macie was staying at his house, and hopefully would be moving in with him permanently, if he could convince her. He told his men about the Lampasas police not being able to find Teddy or the men who’d broken into Macie’s apartment, and he finally touched on the anxiety that Macie fought on a daily basis.

Like the good men he knew they were, not one of the guys in front of him looked discomfited with that last revelation. In fact, Trigger asked, “That’s what happened at the reception, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Colt said.

Lefty nodded. “Brain noticed that she didn’t look well and was going to deal with it when you beat him to it.”

Colt turned his attention to Brain and eyed the younger man.

Brain smiled and held up his hands in a conciliatory gesture. “I knew she was Truck’s sister and just wanted to make sure she was okay. That’s all.”

Colt nodded and tried to calm down. Brain wasn’t going to hit on Macie. He was being polite, that’s all.

“Yeah,” he said, answering Trigger’s question. “The wedding and reception were hard for her. Social situations generally are, so I took her home and made sure she was all right.”

The men all nodded. “So what’s the plan?” Oz asked.

“Brain, I’d like you to see what you can do to find Teddy. Figure out where he likes to hang out, who his dealer is, and who his friends are.

“Doc and Grover, if you can watch her apartment when you can, and see if you notice anyone lurking around, I’d appreciate it. We don’t know who the assholes were who broke in and threatened Macie, and I don’t like that they’re still out there somewhere. Lucky and Oz, I’d appreciate you doing surveillance of my neighborhood. There’s no evidence that Teddy or his friends have been to Killeen, but I don’t want to take any chances. We don’t know what it was that Teddy was looking for, so he might decide to try to get to Macie directly.”

“And us, sir?” Trigger asked, referring to himself and Lefty.

“I want you to come over after we leave here and let me introduce you to her.”

“Sir?” Lefty asked.

“I told you that she suffers from anxiety. She eventually needs to meet all of you. Needs to get comfortable with you. She’s already comfortable with Truck and his team, mostly because of the fact he’s her brother. But I want her to get to know all of you, as well. If I have my way, she’s going to be around for a hell of a long time, and the last thing I want is for her to feel anxious about seeing any of you. I’m going to need your help in social situations to keep her calm. I won’t be able to be by her side at all times, and if she knows you reprobates, then we can both relax.”

“Done,” Trigger said immediately.

“It’s not like I have plans,” Lefty added. “I’d love to get to know her.”

“What about the rest of us?” Grover smirked. “I want to meet the woman who has our commander wrapped around her finger.”

Colt stood and leaned over his desk and glared at his soldier. “Damn straight, she does,” he said in a low tone. “And I’ll do whatever it takes to protect her. Remember that, soldier.”

Grover immediately nodded. “Of course, sir. I didn’t mean anything by that.”

Colt tried to get his temper under control. He knew Grover didn’t mean to be disrespectful, but his comment still rubbed him the wrong way. “She’s smart as all get out,” he told his men. “Beautiful. Resourceful. And she’s been through hell in her life. She’s sensitive about the things people say. She assumes they’re talking about her, even if they aren’t. Watch what comes out of your mouth, and be respectful at all times. Got it?”

A chorus of “Yes, sir” rang out in the room.

“Good,” Colt said with a nod. “If you have any concerns, anything at all, you call me first and the cops second. I don’t expect you to protect her with your life, that’s going a bit far, but I do expect that you’ll look after her as you would each others’ women.”

“Sir,” Trigger said, “you don’t need to tell us that. We may not have wives like everyone on Ghost’s team does, but that doesn’t mean we don’t respect their women, and even want our own at some point. It’s obvious that Macie is important to you, and therefore she’s important to us too. She’s as much a part of this team as you are. You can count on us to do whatever it takes to make sure she’s safe.”